RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Jaws
Jaws

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Jaws (1975)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:36

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.8/10

Consensus: Jaws remains tense by not showing audiences the shark for the majority of the film, so that when it does, viewers jump out of their seats.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized... From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before JAWS. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time--surpassing THE GODFATHER and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark. [More]

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Jonathan Filley

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Carl Gottlieb, Peter Benchley, Howard Sackler
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Jaws

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A film that sealed Steven Spielberg's talent as a master entertainer.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A classic. Tense, engrossing, scary and, subsequently, endlessly influential.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/24/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An astonishingly effective thriller built on a very primal level: fear.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A reminder that, once upon a time, Spielberg used to make films for adults rather than infants and critical regressives.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 3 Comments
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Steven Spielberg has constructed a chillingly frightening film.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/29/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

The first calculated summertime blockbuster...A whale of big-budget Hollywood entertainment.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
06/17/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

Killer sharks cause deaths and provide much excitement.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Steven Spielberg's mechanical thriller is guaranteed to make you scream on schedule.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

One of the most effective thrillers ever made.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Simply put, Jaws turned the tide of American cinema: irrevocably, and not for the better.

Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment 1 Comment
08/20/09
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

In the end, the shark is a MacGuffin necessary for the men to bond and test themselves against what they fear most--their own mortality.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/12/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Nowadays, it doesn't really scare me anymore, but I love watching it for the way it moves.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 2 Comments
06/24/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Set Jaws beside any of the contemporary summer cash leviathans and the hollowness of modern-day Hollywood's vision of action-adventure entertainment is laid bare.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
09/10/01
Scott Von Doviak
Scott Von Doviak
culturevulture.net

A true film of the 70s, all its characters have feet of clay… Yet Jaws boldly puts [them] to a test as dire as any faced by the granite-jawed supermen of earlier decades.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
02/11/06
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

...a classic, action-adventure monster movie, maybe the best ever made.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Well, it's about this shark...

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Along with being a terrific character-driven (not plot) thriller, Jaws should be viewed against the broader context of 1975 as part of a cycle of paranoia films, reflecting the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, anti-authoritarianism, and political apathy

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

It was the beast that launched a thousand monster movies.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

I loved the film more this time than I had the first time I watched it.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Like all the best suspense films, "Jaws" manages to somehow remain amazingly tense, even if you've seen the film before. No wonder so many moviegoers went back for repeat viewings.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
07/27/07
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Jaws

May 16, 2008: Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films
RT counts down the ten best-reviewed films directed by Indiana Jones helmer and modern moviemaking legend, Steven Spielberg. More...

February 13, 2008: Roy Scheider: 1932-2008
Actor Roy Scheider, who earned Oscar nominations for his work in The French Connection and All That Jazz, passed away of undisclosed causes over the weekend. He was 75 years old. More...

January 03, 2008: New Indy 4 Interviews, Pictures Online!
May 22 still feels awfully far away, but if the nearly six-month gap between your eyeballs and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has you feeling forlorn, fear... More...

December 12, 2007: Walter Murch on Youth Without Youth: The RT Interview (With Exclusive Photos and Clips!)
This week, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth hits theaters in limited release. The tale of a writer who becomes young again after being struck by lightning is a... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Avatar Picks Up Golden Globes Buzz Source: HitFix
14
  • Disney's Upcoming Hand-Drawn Movies Revealed Source: Slashfilm
5
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
22
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
6
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
6
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
18
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
204
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
83
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
24
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Jaws at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Jaws at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.